Italy At The 2010 Fifa World Cup: Why Del Piero Must Be There

As the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa approaches, there is a lot of talk in Italy about whether or not the current squad can do any damage at the world's biggest sports competition. As the defending champions, Italy should undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with, the key word here is "should".

Nobody can argue that since the Italians won the World Cup in 2006, there have been major changes. Nothing but disappointment has come since that day, as Italy was knocked out of Euro 08 in the 2nd round and they performed horribly this past summer at the Confederations cup.

Much of the blame is going to coach Marcello Lippi, who has been beyond stubborn when choosing his squad. Nearly every fan in Italy has begged for the inclusion of Antonio Cassano since Lippi was rehired, but to no avail.

With Cassano realizing his World Cup fate, he has decided to book his wedding right in the middle of the competition, guaranteeing he will not play at the world cup. But with the defense seemingly as good as its going to get, the problem in italy continues to be the offensive creativity and goal scoring ability.

Few players in Italy have the ability to change a game with one kick, and right now, its arguable that there are only 3 that can. Those players are Antonio Cassano, Francesco Totti, and Alessandro Del Piero. As mentioned above, Cassano is out. Totti retired after 2006, and although there is some speculation that he could return, he is likely to miss the World Cup as well. This leaves Del Piero, the Golden Boy of Juventus.

Del Piero, having started his international career before any other player on the team, is undoubtedly getting old. But with his current skill set and creative ability, there is no reason ADP should be denied one last chance at glory. Italy is currently lacking that one player who can come off the bench and save a half, a game, a tournament, but in Del Piero, they would have it.

2010 would serve as Del Piero's last tournament with the Azzurri, and if given the chance, the Golden Boy, surely, will not disappoint.